Radio notes: KISS ‘n’ ‘Billy’

So many morning shows are beamed in from out of town these days, it seemed like a fair question: Will “The Billy Madison Show,” which replaces “The Lisle & Hahn Morning Show” on KISS-FM in three weeks, actually originate from San Antonio? Or will it come from Tulsa, where the show has gained a following on two Top 40 stations?

Yes, it will be broadcast from the KISS studios, Cox Communications VP of programming Virgil Thompson told the Express-News’ Jeanne Jakle last week.

Don’t believe that? Then check out the show’s Facebook page, which indicates Billy and his buddies (well, at least one of them, Derek) were in San Antonio last weekend getting the lay of the land. Apparently one of the top priorities was having a beer on the River Walk — they posted a photo of a Lone Star longneck on a table, with the River Walk in the background.

So at least they have their priorities straight.

But what exactly will the show bring to SA? I listened to a few “greatest-hits” excerpts” on K-HITS last week (Billy and his three buddies were taken off the air live after announcing their departure) and was hoping to do a bit more this morning.

No such luck. Although the K-HITS website still has a ” ‘Billy Madison Show’ on air now” button on its homepage, there’s no show. Just K-HITS afternoon jock Jet Black apparently double-shifting, playing the station’s Top 40 format on what he called the “Temporary Morning Show” (in a related development, I’m feeling far more up to speed on the Top 40 than I have in years).

Meanwhile at KISS, former “Lisle & Hahn” producer Kelley Kendall is keeping the chair warm for Madison’s crew, playing pretty much nonstop rock with occasional breaks for promos and a bit of chatter. This has been SOP since John Lisle and Steve Hahn were let go after their show Oct. 24.

Needless to say, Billy has a tough act to follow, since “Lisle & Hahn” had held down the KISS morning slot for almost 20 years. One of the reasons I listened to “Lisle & Hahn” (which led to my Friday “Weekend Happenings” gig) was because they were local. They knew San Antonio, past and present. Hahn is a San Antonio native who often regaled us with his tales from Jefferson High; Lisle, a North Carolinian, had been with KISS off and on since the mid-’80s and continuously since the station came back from the dead (i.e., the 18-month switch to oldies) in 1992.

What will “The Billy Madision Show” bring to the table? “Jackass,” judging from what I heard Friday, their last day on the air. One segment involved hitting co-host Chubbs in the face with a ball and having listeners guess what kind of ball. Another involved nipple-tasing when someone answered a general-knowledge question wrong. Never heard so many howls of pain.

Then there was a discussion about how old is too old to get a hickey, followed by Chubbs having to give one to his best friend, Emo. All of this was broadcast live on BillyMadison.com, which has also been taken down. Too bad. I was professionally curious.

Some of this stuff actually played better than it sounds, as Chubbs makes an entertaining whipping boy. But it could have come from Tulsa or Timbuktu. It’ll be interesting to see if they maintain this one-show-fits-all-markets approach, especially since they’re promising to resurface in Tulsa soon on another station (via syndication, i.e., reruns).

And maybe the greatest-hits excerpts weren’t representative of what they did in Tulsa day in and day out. But all their podcasts have been taken down, so I couldn’t check them out. We’ll just have to wait and see. Or hear, actually.